


Far Longer Than Forever

by phantomsong



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura and Lance are Siblings, Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Galra Keith (Voltron), Keith and Shiro are Siblings, M/M, Minor Violence, in this universe same sex marriages for diplomatic reasons are totally legit just go with me here, keith is just really done with lance's shit, kind of a swan princess au but not really, lance fucks up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-29 15:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8494867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomsong/pseuds/phantomsong
Summary: Prince Keith of Galra and Prince Lance of Altea are promised to wed in order to keep the peace between the two kingdoms. After not seeing each other for three years following the death of the former Altean king, the two meet again. Hopes are high for the union of Galra and Altea-- that is, until Lance accidentally insults Keith and causes a rift between them that threatens two decades of diplomatic relations. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the inconvenient reappearance of the King of Galra’s banished brother, the notoriously evil Former Emperor Zarkon, soon sends everything back into chaos when he kidnaps his nephew and transforms him into a black bear. Determined to fix this whole mess, Lance and his best friend, Hunk, set out to find Keith and restore order to the kingdoms before Zarkon and his evil witch, Haggar, send Galra and Altea spiraling into a deadly conflict that could destroy both nations for good. Very, very loosely based off the Swan Princess movie.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I watched Swan Princess again after like ten years and I just had to make a klance au out of it :' ) The fic will sort of follow the plot but definitely goes its own way at places. Starbound (my Stardust AU) is still my primary fic for now but this is just a fun little project to work on as well to get me doing more writing while totally chickening out on NaNoWriMo. Anyways, happy reading!

The massive doors to the ballroom loomed menacingly over the Altean prince. Lance gulped and took a step back, his legs wobbling as if they were made of jelly. 

 

“Hunk, I don't think I can do this.”

 

“Yes you can. You'll be fine.” The prince’s retainer patted him lightly on the back. “It's just Keith. How bad could this be?”

 

“Very, very bad! If I mess this up, I might as well kiss the kingdom goodbye! Allura would kill me!” Lance let out a nervous laugh. “Plus, do you even remember the last time we saw Keith? I'll give you a hint: my sister grounded both of us! For a month!”

 

Hunk shuddered. “Don't remind me. I thought she was gonna be all like 'off with their heads!’” He made a guillotine motion with his hand as if to prove his point.

 

“Well, she really will be off with my head if this doesn't go well. I think I'm gonna be sick!” The prince cupped a hand over his mouth and leaned against a wall. 

 

Hunk immediately took off his hat and handed it to his liege. “C’mon, buddy. Leave the getting sick to me.”

 

“You don't understand, Hunk!” Lance moaned. “I feel like my father's ghost is bending over me, breathing his creepy, weird ghost-breath down my neck!”

 

“King Alfor would’ve been proud of you for agreeing to at least try to see if you guys would make a suitable match. I'm sure that wherever he is, he's rooting for you.” Hunk smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You'll do great, Lord Lance. Trust me. I say this not just as your servant, but also your friend.”

 

“Lance! There you are!” came a stressed female voice. Queen Allura came dashing towards her younger brother, lifting the hem of her skirt up as she ran. 

 

“Hey, sis,” Lance said feebly. 

 

Allura frowned as she straightened his collar. “If you slouch like that, you’re going to get creases in your clothes.” Despite her bossy tone, Lance could feel his sister’s hands shaking through the cloth. He took in a deep breath. 

 

“Don’t worry about me. Keith won’t be able to resist this,” the boy said, gesturing at himself and bowing dramatically. 

 

“There’s the Lance we all know and love,” Hunk said jokingly. 

 

Allura couldn’t help but chuckle. “You don’t want to start any more trouble with Keith than you already have, so I’d keep the embarrassing comments to a minimum. No more rival talk. You’re not children anymore.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Lance brushed her hands off, adding, “And for the record, it wasn’t me who sent that wagon full of rotten apples rolling down the cliff. That one was on Keith.”

 

The young Altean queen rolled her eyes. “Sure it was. Just like he was the one who got into all the grape jelly and stained the entrance hall’s carpets purple.” She let out a soft gasp as the doors to the ballroom groaned in complaint under the force of the servants who pushed them apart, revealing the spacious and ornate room within.

 

One last time, Allura turned to face her brother, placing her hands on his shoulders. “Joking aside, Lance, please try to be on your best behaviour. Father’s legacy rests on this, as does peace negotiations for our kingdom. Promise me you’ll take this seriously.”

 

The prince nodded, his expression returning to its previously solemn state. “I promise.”

 

Allura managed a smile. “Good. Now go. Prince Keith awaits.”

 

“No pressure or anything,” Lance muttered as he turned away, facing towards the doors as they swung open. 

 

It had been three years since Lance had last seen Keith. Their relationship, much like that between their kingdoms, had been uneasy at best. The boy Lance remembered was one characterized by his constantly moody attitude and a really awful haircut. Lance recalled how Keith’s thick black hair always swept over his eyes like no one had bothered to cut it in months-- months he had, undoubtedly, spent hunched over some dusty boring old book in the darkest corners of the royal library. All attempts at trying to coax Keith out of his hiding place were met with fierce resistance. It was like trying to pull a bear out of a cave, Lance thought with a snicker. 

 

But that wasn’t even what had really annoyed Lance about Keith. No, the problems came when Keith left the library, went outside, and did stuff. Stuff Lance was supposed to be good at. Stuff he was supposed to be the best at. Keith, who had apparently never shot a bow and arrow in his life had hit the target on his first three tries, the third one landing straight in the bull’s eye. Then he had had the audacity to turn to Lance and ask if he had done it right. Lance could feel his teeth grit together at the memory. As if he didn’t know. 

 

Card games. Chess. Horseback riding. Swordplay. Even X’s and O’s. Lance could never beat Keith-- not even once. The whole thing was so dumb and frustrating that after their last meeting, Lance had turned to his father, King Alfor, and begged him to reconsider his not-so-subtle attempts at matchmaking the pair. There was no way he was going to have anything to do with Keith-- let alone marry him-- even if it would bring peace and stability to the two kingdoms. But Alfor had simply laughed, and told Lance not to be so competitive, that Keith was a nice boy if he would give him a chance, that they would be a great match, all that nonsense Lance had heard for the last fifteen years. And frankly, the Altean prince was sick and tired of it all. 

 

So he had formulated a plan. A very simple plan, in which he would tell Keith exactly how he felt about him, and hopefully, Keith would feel bad about his I’m-so-perfect-at-everything attitude go away for good. 

 

All of that, however, collapsed almost immediately upon entering the ballroom. Lance’s breath hitched as he slowly made his way forward towards the young man that stood opposite from him. 

 

There had to be some sort of mistake. This boy was… well, so poised, elegant, beautiful, and completely un-Keith. His deep purple eyes widened as he caught sight of Lance walking towards him. His sleek black hair was brushed back neatly, curling around his ears. He offered Lance a shy smile that made the other prince’s heart flutter madly. 

 

“K-Keith?” Lance stammered out. 

 

“Yeah?” 

 

“So it _is_ you.”

 

“Of course it’s me,” Keith said wryly. “Who were you expecting?”

 

Lance exhaled. “I… Er, I just haven’t seen you for like, forever, man. Like, you’re so different, and it’s totally weird-- n-not that there’s anything _wrong_ with that, I was just-- you know what? Never mind. You wanna dance or something?”

 

Keith nodded, wordlessly accepting the hand Lance offered him, and the two fell into their starting position easily. 

 

Behind them, the royal band took this as their cue to begin playing a slow waltz. Lance had taken the lead and stepped onto the dance floor, pulling Keith along with him.

 

It surprised him how easily dancing with Keith became as their bodies swayed to the music, moving in nearly perfect parallel with one another, note by note. A blush crept onto the Altean prince’s cheeks. He quickly averted his gaze, choosing to stare instead at a crease in Keith’s sleeve. 

 

“Lance?” Keith spoke up tentatively. 

 

“Yeah?” Lance replied, still trying to avoid eye contact.

 

“Do you still hate me?”

 

“What?!” the Altean prince let out a nervous laugh. “What makes you think that? N-no way!” 

 

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

 

Slowly, Lance lifted his gaze, settling on Keith’s deep violet eyes. His heart beat more erratically with each passing second. There was something so genuine in the Galran prince’s expression which Lance had never seen the likes of in him before. Had Keith really grown up so much in just three years? Or perhaps… perhaps he had simply failed to notice it before? 

 

“I’m sorry I was so mean to you when we were little!” Lance suddenly blurted out. 

 

Keith looked surprised. “Wait… are you actually apologizing to me?”

 

The Altean prince frowned. “Don’t ruin the moment, Mullet, since you’re not likely to get another one anytime soon.”

 

Keith held back a biting retort upon hearing the irritating childhood nickname, and merely nodded at the other boy. “Well, then, continue.”

 

Lance took a deep breath. “I was totally not prepared to do this today, so, uh, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for being a big jerk to you, even if you deserved it sometimes. But enough about that. That’s in the past now, and I’m a new man. And… and you’re… different now, too.”

 

A genuine smile lit up Keith’s face. “I… uh, I appreciate the apology. Thank you… Prince Lance.”

 

“Call me Lance,” the Altean prince whispered. Somehow, Keith managed to appear even more breathtakingly beautiful to him now. He tightened his grip on the other boy’s hand almost possessively. 

 

A small crowd had begun to gather around the ballroom; first Hunk and Allura had taken a seat opposite to the band alongside Coran, the Altean royal advisor, who watched the two princes dance with such joy that he had to repeatedly dab at the corners of his eyes with his silk handkerchief. The Galrans, too, made their way to the seats. Keith’s father, King Thace, sat on Allura’s right, while his elder brother, and the Crown Prince, Shiro, sat next to his father. He flashed Keith a supportive thumbs-up. 

 

Everyone watched intently as the waltz winded down and the two princes finally stopped moving. Lance bent down and gave Keith’s hand a kiss, causing the Galran prince to turn red.

 

“Arrange the marriage!” Lance announced, holding Keith’s hand in the air as if he had just won a wrestling match. The crowd in front of them went wild with applause, some shouting their congratulations for the young couple. Allura turned to Thace and smiled, which he returned with a smile of his own, reaching out his hand for her to shake and seal the deal of uniting their kingdoms. Coran loudly blew his nose, murmuring to himself about if only King Alfor could be here. 

 

Keith, however, twisted out of Lance’s grasp, looking at him strangely. “Wait, what?!”

 

The clamorous noise died down as the celebrations halted, and both royal courts turned full attention to the Galran prince. Keith backed away from Lance, his expression shocked. 

 

Lance took a step towards him. “Where are you going?”

 

“I just… we just met, and-- and you don’t really even know me. Don’t you at least want to spend a week together before deciding something like this?” 

 

“What are you talking about?!” Lance gasped out. “You’re all I ever wanted, Keith! You’re… You’re _beautiful!_ ”

 

Keith crossed his arms. “Yeah, but what else? You used to hate my guts. Is that the only reason you want me now? Is beauty all that matters to you?”

 

The Altean prince was stunned. “Uh… um… I, uh…” he grasped for words. “Uh… Well, what else is there?”

 

Everyone in the room fell silent, their mouths hanging open in shock. Coran drew a line across his neck, desperately gesturing for Lance to shut up. 

 

“What do you mean, what else is there-- oh. Wait a minute. I get it,” Keith said in a flat tone. “Stupid me. I almost thought you’d changed there for a second. But you’re still the same egotistical, narcissistic ass you were three years ago. Let me guess. The only reason you bothered to apologize was to ease your own guilty conscience.”

 

“Keith…” Lance whispered, reaching out to place a hand on the other prince’s shoulder, but Keith slapped it away and turned his back on him. 

 

“Just… Just leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with you, Lance!” Keith shouted. “You’re vain, and conceited, and you don’t care about anything but yourself! I hope I never see you again!”

 

The Galran prince stormed out of the room, slamming the doors as loud as he could manage behind him. The crowd in the background began murmuring uneasily. Allura rested her head on her hand, rubbing at her temples. Thace looked away from the Alteans, murmuring something to his entourage. Shiro glanced anxiously at the door where Keith had left.

 

“How did this happen?” Coran whispered. He dabbed at his eyes, but for a completely different reason this time. 

 

“I…” Lance faltered. He gulped as the Galran party stood up and silently exited the room without looking at him. Only Shiro, with his brows knitted together in concern, showed any sort of pity for the boy. 

 

Allura stood up. “Leave us,” she commanded her servants. They bowed and quickly scurried out after the Galrans. 

 

“Allura, I can explain--” Lance started, but she cut him off. 

 

“Just don’t, Lance. Just don’t.” She made eye contact with him, but instead of the rage he expected, her eyes held only sorrow. “I’m glad Father isn’t here to witness you embarrass our kingdom. I only pray King Thace is more forgiving.”

 

The Altean queen marched off with Coran and Hunk trailing behind. Hunk shot one last sympathetic glance at his friend as they exited the ballroom, leaving Lance to his lonesome. 

 

The prince gazed around the room, a shiver creeping up his spine. A deep pit of dread widened in his stomach and he buried his face into his hands. 

 

“Oh no, what have I done?!”


	2. Chapter 2

A strange silence had settled all throughout the Altean royal palace as only one question lingered on the minds of its inhabitants: What now? 

 

The Galran party had retreated into the king’s carriage, far from prying ears, in order to discuss their next moves. King Thace gazed tiredly out on the small party gathered on the seats facing opposite him. Everyone avoided eye contact, fidgeting uncomfortably as they waited for their liege to call the meeting to order. 

 

“Where is Shiro?” the king spoke up at last, his voice emerging dry and raspy from his throat. 

 

“With Prince Keith, milord,” came the voice that belonged to the king’s most trusted advisor. “They are down at the lake, last I checked.”

 

Thace smiled gratefully, nodding. “I appreciate you keeping tabs on my sons, Sendak. Oh heavens, what would I ever do without your keenful watch?”

 

Sendak’s lips curled into a grin as he ran his tongue over his teeth. “I am most humbled by your praise, my king. But there are matters we must discuss now. I’ll do the hard work and start by saying what we are all thinking. I knew we shouldn’t’ve trusted those blasted Alteans.”

 

There was a murmuring of agreement within the carriage. Thace raised a hand, silencing them. 

 

“I agree that this meeting was certainly less than favourable, but Prince Lance is young. Perhaps there is still time to right his error of judgement so we can leave Altea knowing that we have at least resolved something.”

 

Sendak shook his head. “Forgive me for saying so, milord, but this slight caused unto us by the prince is too much to simply walk away from. We mustn’t let Altea get away with this! I would suggest we act at once!” He slammed his fist down on the table in front of him. “Allura must pay for impugning our honour!”

 

“Now, now, Sendak,” the king chuckled. “I appreciate the enthusiasm, but isn’t this a little too trivial an incident to start a war over? I mean, we mustn’t forget the great losses of our last conflict with Altea, twenty years ago.”

 

“Of course not, milord, but--”

 

“We must honour our promise to the late King Alfor and try to resolve our issues in a diplomatic fashion, Sendak. ”

 

“Milord, the Alteans cannot be trusted. You cannot hand your son over to that overblown fool of a prince!” Sendak spat. 

 

“Young Lance has much growing to do, but that’s no reason to fight,” Thace said sternly. “Unless Altea gives us an irrefutable reason to invade, we shall try to work it out with the queen. That being said, I do not intend to let Altea off the hook so easily. Rest easy, Sendak. We will take action, but I will not start a war.”

 

Sendak opened his mouth to argue, but he closed it and dipped his head at his liege. “Whatever you think best, milord.”

 

The king smiled. “Thank you, Sendak. I will send an emissary to speak with Allura later today. We will resolve this, that I promise. Until then, will you escort Keith back to our outpost on the border? I think it would be best to remove him from the situation for now.”

 

“Yes, my king.” Sendak reached over and tugged the carriage door open. He crawled out, shutting it tightly behind him before turning away, a sinister smirk lighting up his face. “Oh yes, remove our dear, sweet prince from the situation I shall. Fear not, my king. He’ll be so far gone that I doubt you’ll see his sad little face for a very long time.”

 

***

 

Keith ran his thumb around the curved edge of the flat stone. He tensed, readying his arm and getting ready to launch it across the water’s surface. With a sharp motion, he flicked his wrist, spinning the stone out of his grasp, watching as it skimmed across the lake.

 

“Eight skips, not bad,” said a voice from behind him. 

 

Keith frowned. “What do you want, Shiro?”

 

The elder prince smiled, placing his prosthetic hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Relax, Keith, I’m not here to lecture you. I just wanna talk.”

 

“Then talk.”

 

Shiro sighed. Apparently Keith was going to make this difficult on him. “How are you doing?” he asked, not bothering to mask his concern. 

 

“Terrible.”

 

“Just ‘terrible’?”

 

“I don’t really wanna talk about it.”

 

“Alright, then.” Shiro sat down on a log. “I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

 

Keith tossed another stone into the lake, cursing as it sunk after only three skips. Finally, he looked back at his brother, meeting his eyes. “You know what’s really stupid, Shiro?”

 

Shiro sat up. “No, what?”

 

“For a moment there, I…” Keith paused, letting out a bitter laugh. “I wanted to like him. I can’t believe it, but I did. The way he first looked at me-- I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone look at me like that before. It was like… I dunno. Like I was special, or something. I mean, he used to despise me, so I thought it was gonna be like it always was-- him avoiding me, or snapping at me, and we’d spend the whole time yelling at each other like we did when we were kids. But when he looked at me in the ballroom, I thought things were gonna be different. That he was different somehow.” 

 

“To be fair, you said he did apologize to you for treating you badly as a kid, right?” 

 

“Yeah… I guess he did. And when he did… It… It made me happy. Stupidly happy.” Keith buried his face into his hands. “And the worst thing is, I think I might’ve fallen for him a little bit. But now I just wanna punch his stupid, handsome face! Ugh, I hate Lance so much!”

 

Shiro smiled knowingly. “Love’s rough, isn’t it?”

 

“Yeah, especially when the guy you fell for is a selfish prick,” Keith muttered. “I definitely resent the part of me that actually wants to marry him, especially when the rest of me wants him to grow the hell up first.”

 

“I think you should give it time. Maybe go home and spend a few months away from all this diplomatic shit. And then, maybe you’ll feel ready to go through with this,” Shiro suggested. 

 

“Yeah. Maybe.” Keith looked at his brother tiredly. “I just wanna go home, Shiro.”

 

“I know you do. And we will soon, okay? Just hang in there for now. You’ll be fine,” Shiro said gently as he stood up and pulled Keith into his chest. 

 

Keith closed his eyes as he let his brother hug him. He wanted so badly to believe in Shiro’s words; to know that this would all work out in the end. If he hadn’t made such a fuss over Lance’s error, maybe his father and the Altean queen wouldn’t have to re-negotiate a settlement for long-lasting peace between their nations. Twenty years of diplomatic relations that were meant to be solidified within the month would perhaps last years without the promise of a union. It was his impetuous outburst that led to this situation, and despite how ridiculous and shallow Lance had been, Keith wouldn’t be able to forever ignore that perhaps a teeny bit of the blame rested on his shoulders as well. 

 

“Ahem.” Someone behind them cleared his throat. Keith glanced up to see Sendak staring at them impatiently. 

 

“I have been ordered by the king to escort Prince Keith to the outpost on the border,” the Galran royal advisor told them. “We are to depart immediately, if you wouldn’t mind, milords.”

 

“I apologize, Sendak,” Shiro said, releasing Keith from the hug. “Be good, okay, little bro?”

 

Keith stuck his tongue out at his brother as he went to join Sendak, and Shiro laughed, waving as the two climbed into the waiting carriage. 

 

Sendak closed the door behind Keith, letting out a snicker as he did so. Oh, that pathetic little prince and that good-for-nothing excuse of a king would get what was coming to them, he would be certain of it. 

 

Keith watched as the countryside rolled out before him, shifting his weight to lean against the door. From the seat across from him, Sendak kept track of the prince’s every move. Despite the unfortunate events that had occurred at the Altean palace, Keith seemed to keep looking back as if he expected Lance to come racing out on a white horse, proclaiming his love for the whole kingdom to hear, or something of that nonsense, Sendak supposed. As if to prove his point, the prince let out a sad sigh. 

 

“Don’t worry, milord. Prince Lance will get what’s coming to him,” Sendak said, smirking. 

 

Keith laughed nervously. “Yeah. I hope so. I trust my father to work it out.”

 

“Yes, yes. Your father.” Sendak bit back a growl. “Such a good man. Almost too good, in fact.”

 

“Yeah. He is.” The young prince turned his attention back out the window. It was getting dark now-- the trees had begun to blur into dark, foreboding shapes, gnarled and twisted branches like fingers, reaching out to pluck him from the carriage and drag him into the forest beyond. 

 

Suddenly, the carriage jolted to a stop. Keith sat up. “Is something wrong?”

 

Sendak shrugged. “Probably nothing. But,” he added, “If it pleases your highness, I will get out and investigate.”

 

Keith nodded. “Please do.”

 

The advisor twisted the door handle open, leaving the carriage door ajar. He stepped out and disappeared into the night. 

 

Keith tapped his foot on the floor, waiting impatiently for Sendak to return. What was he doing out there? It had been like five minutes now-- or maybe more. Keith wasn’t sure, but he knew for a fact he was getting cold and hungry and willing to fire Sendak’s ass from the royal staff as soon as possible. 

 

“Sendak?” the prince called out. “Hey! Sendak! Are you out there?”

 

There was no response. 

 

Keith frowned and stuck his head out the carriage door. As far as he could see, the road was completely empty. Where had Sendak gone? There was only one thing to do now, the prince reasoned. 

 

No sooner than he had stepped out of the carriage did he feel someone grab at him, their arm wrapping around his neck and holding a cloth over his face.

 

Keith twisted, elbowing and punching violently at his assailant. He tried to scream, but the cloth muffled the sound into a choking cry. Whoever was behind him was a lot stronger than he was, able to restrain him despite his efforts to escape. He felt his body grow weaker, his head blurring and heart pounding as he sank into his attacker and into a sea of nothingness. 

 

***

 

“King Thace, I am deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I've caused you and your family, and the whole kingdom of Galra. My words were really inappropriate and offensive and I beg for your forgiveness,” Lance recited as he bent down on his knees in front of the Galran King. He leaned over to take Thace’s hand and gave it a respectful peck before looking up to read the king’s face. 

 

Thace smiled down at him. “I accept your apology, Prince Lance, and I hope we can work together to build peace and trust between our kingdoms. Whether Keith is ready to forgive you, however, I don’t know. I hope in time that the two of you will become friends again, if nothing else. Now stand up. You are a prince, and princes do not grovel.”

 

Lance let out a sigh of relief as he rose to his feet. “Thank you, milord.”

 

The royal courts around them let out a grateful round of applause. Allura patted her brother on the back and reached over to shake Thace’s hand once more. 

 

“Thank you for accepting my dimwitted brother’s apology, King Thace,” the Altean queen said.

 

“And I thank you, Queen Allura, for allowing us to resolve this in such a quick and timely, nonviolent manner,” the Galran king responded. “Now, I believe there was a trade issue you wanted to discuss?”

 

“Yes, I was thinking that--”

 

She was cut off by the thud of the doors bursting open. Sendak rushed in, collapsing on the ground in front of the two monarchs. Blood trickled out of the gashes along his body and soaked his ripped clothing. Letting out a gasp, he propped himself up on his hands and knees at the feet of the king. 

 

“Sendak!” King Thace gasped out. “Good heavens! What happened to you?!”

 

“Milord…” Sendak wheezed. “We were attacked… by a monster… A terrifying, terrifying monster!”

 

“A monster? In these lands?” Allura looked surprised. “I thought they had gone extinct during the last war!”

 

“Where’s Keith?!” Thace demanded. “Sendak, where is my son?!”

 

“He’s… He’s gone…” Sendak panted out. “The monster… It took him… I tried to fight it off… But it overpowered me… Knocked me out… When I came to… Prince Keith was gone…”

 

“WHAT?!” Lance shouted, his eyes wide with panic. He grabbed Sendak by the collar of his torn shirt. “Where did it take him?!”

 

“I don’t know,” Sendak growled. 

 

Lance dropped him and strode towards the door. 

 

“Lance!” Allura shouted after him. “Where do you think you’re going?”

 

Lance stopped and looked back at his sister. “I’m going to find Keith and slay the monster that took him!”

 

Then, without hesitation, he whirled around and dashed down the hallway.

 

Allura and Thace exchanged a glance before following him, yelling at him to wait and not do anything stupid. The royal parties left after their lieges, leaving Sendak lying on the floor. 

 

Waiting until the sounds of footsteps were no more, the Galran advisor sat up and wiped the fake blood from his cheek, quietly snickering to himself. The fools. They had bought every single word. He took a small round mirror out of his pocket and rubbed at it three times. 

 

The scarred face of an older man appeared. He stared out at Sendak with eyes that were cruel and cold, his chapped mouth twisted into a horrible smirk. “They bought the story?”

 

Sendak nodded, bowing. “Yes, Lord Zarkon. Every single word. The foolish Altean prince is rushing after our little princeling as I speak. No one is any wiser.”

 

“Good, good,” Zarkon approved. “And my brother? He is still unaware of my existence?”

 

“Thace assumes you are dead, milord.”

 

“Wonderful. With his pitiful little son in my grasp, he will be powerless to my plans. You have done well, Sendak.”

 

“Thank you, milord. I aim to serve my rightful king, the one who will save our nation from the weakness that has been inflicted onto it.”

 

Zarkon grinned wickedly. “Yes, yes, indeed. And once I regain the throne, I will destroy whatever is left of Altea and finally make Galra great again!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would've had this up sooner but I've been so depressed over the whole election thing that I kind of lost the motivation to write anything for a few days. As you've probably picked up in that last line, I'm still bitter :' )
> 
> Anyways, enough about that. Comments/kudos/views/whatnot are very much appreciated, thanks for reading, and stay strong <3


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